15/12/2025
Excellent review of Pavel Sporcl's new Bach album, 'Air', on the leading Czech music magazine, Polyharmonie, from the much-respected critic Luboš Stehlík - and you can read a nice accompanying interview at the link.
"In 2015, Pavel Šporcl – probably the only Czech artist who can truly master classical music, rock, and Gypsy folklore (curiously, he still avoids jazz) – released a complete set of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (Supraphon). It was a partial pinnacle of his career, which had really taken off around 2005. The recording did not enter the ranks of the world’s very finest, but it was distinctive, full of strong features, and unquestionably became exceptional within the Czech context...Ten years later, once again prompted by a Bach anniversary, came its counterpart: the album Air. Released by Universal Music s.r.o., a branch of the world’s largest music corporation Universal Music (which, in the late ’90s, also released Magdalena Kožená’s global debut — likewise with music by J. S. Bach). This new title features Bach’s violin concertos – the three principal works: the A minor Concerto, BWV 1041, the E major Concerto, BWV 1042, and the D minor Concerto for two violins, BWV 1043, here in a bold version for violin and oboe. The album also includes the D minor Concerto for violin and oboe, BWV 1060R (originally for two harpsichords, BWV 1060) and two arrangements of well-known pieces – the Badinerie from Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067, and the Air from Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068...Pavel Šporcl's Bach is beautifully relaxed, and as in everything he has played or still plays, he is technically sovereign. He has tried to find an interpretative bridge between the world of historically informed performance (especially regarding ornamentation and ensemble size, although Bach performed these concertos in Köthen with larger forces) and the modernity of the 21st century. After repeated listening, I am convinced he succeeded — as I expected. He does not hide his individuality in tone and vibrato...By recording Bach, he has entered the merciless world of top competition — and he fights very honorably. I’ll cite a few recordings I still consider reference: from the archive, Menuhin, Grumiaux, Stern; from the “authentic” school, Lamon, Manze, Standage; and from the “modern” violinists, for example Kremer, Mutter, Zehetmair, Fischer… In terms of pure violinistic expertise, Pavel Šporcl certainly does not disappear among these star names...The recording is framed with tasteful arrangements of two Bach “hits,” presumably chosen for their attractiveness...
Bach by Pavel Šporcl has many more exclamation marks than question marks and will surely find a worthy place in the discography of modern reflections on the Baroque."
V létě vznikla myšlenka a na sklonku roku 2025 spatřila světlo světa bachovská nahrávka, která je originální koncepcí, interpretací i vydavatelem. Je nejen oslavou skladatele, ale i vyznáním lásky Pavla Šporcla nejgeniálnějšímu tvůrci klasické hudby. Houslista je druhým ....
